Resentment

Chapter 25: The ones who died in battle

A/N: I own nothing except my mistakes. Also, I just wanted to tell you how incredibly thankful I am for all your amazing reviews and love for this story. Although I must admit it is a bit pressuring, seeing as so far most of it has only been positive and I'm bound to mess up some time and disappoint you all, but it is great to see that so far what I'm creating is liked by every one of you. So, thank you so much!

Hermione was still standing firmly on her spot, all goofy yet still in complete disbelief. Draco Malfoy, the Pureblood she had told last year that she would never fall for, had kissed her just moments ago. One that equally shared her opinion on the matter just a year ago. It was difficult to wrap her head around, but soon enough they were interrupted from their little moment as Ron came yelling down the aisle, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Coming back behind from the pile of thrown away things, she took a run for it when all too soon a dragon made of fire was pursuing her, and she had no choice to leave Draco to find a way out on his own.

Running behind Harry and Ron who were slightly further up ahead, she tried to take a good look around to see if she could perhaps spot the blond locks of Draco, but she ended up finding nothing. Making a sharp turn to the left, she got separated from the two boys ahead, but soon after found her way back to them, crashing into Ron as Harry fired a water spell to the approaching fire dragon.

It was then that they had the luck to come across a set of broomsticks, and even though Hermione was reluctant to fly, she gladly mounted it knowing that it would be the only way to save herself. "Come on! This way!" Ron screamed over the crackling sounds of fire, which was intensified the more the room burnt down. Draco, where are you? Hermione couldn't help the panic that slipped into her voice. Because what if he had already died in the fire? Would she have felt that in a way, as if a weight would have been lifted from her mind? Whether she would or not, she hoped to never find out.

Here. Hermione frantically looked around, but then spotted Draco and Blaise standing on a pile of old objects, which was slowly starting to burn as the flames licked the wooden objects placed on top of each other. "We have to save them!" Hermione yelled over the fire, and she was happy to see that Harry turned his face around to look at the two boys.

Glad to see that Harry made a turn around a pillar, she followed Ron and Harry as they took the lead, Hermione not daring to go too fast or she was certain she was going to fall off her broom. Watching as Harry grabbed Draco and Ron grabbed Blaise, she followed them through the room and to the doors, careful to not get herself burnt in the flames and to maintain an iron grip on her broom.

Really, Hermione, couldn't you have been the one to grab me instead of Potter? Hermione rolled her eyes, speeding up slightly as Ron and Harry were going way faster than she was. If I would have grabbed you, Draco, we'd both have ended up in the fire. That was most definitely the truth.

It's not like Hermione couldn't fly a broom, because she could, but she found it scary enough to be so high up and unstable on just a tiny piece of wood, let alone grab someone else and lift them up to sit behind her.

Hermione sped up slightly as the boys were slowing down, obviously not at their best with someone else joining them, and she shot a spell at the flames to tame them down a bit, opening a passage for them. Through it she flew, and all too soon ended face first on the cold hard ground out of the Room of Requirement, groaning as her body hit the floor.

I'm really sorry, but I have to leave. Hermione watched as he scrambled off the floor and ran with Blaise down the hallway, but she paid it no mind. She understood that they both had different parts to play in this war, and she couldn't possibly ask of him to stay with her and fight against his own parents.

The only thing she could hope for was that he managed to stay as much out of trouble as he could, and hoped that he wouldn't encounter a lot of moments where he would have to prove what side he was on, or well, fool them into thinking he was on their side.

Getting up herself, she threw the Basilisk's fang to Harry and watched as he jammed it into the diadem, Ron doing the honours of kicking it into the flames. The three heads of Voldemort appeared, along with a loud screech, and then it abruptly ended as the doors of the Room of Requirement slammed shut.

Harry sat panting on the floor, his back against the wall as his eyes fluttered back and forth. "It's the snake. It's the last Horcrux." He panted, and Hermione exchanged a quick glance with Ron, albeit somewhat awkward. Sighing, she knelt down to one knee so she was with eye level with Harry, and for the first time encouraged him to use their connection to find out where Voldemort was.

Watching as Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on his own connection with Voldemort, she was relieved to at last hear that he knew where Voldemort was located. And with that they got on their feet, roaming their ways through the castle as they made their way to the location.

Throwing a spell in once or twice, they moved along through crowds of people fighting, and even had to outrun dozens of giant spiders at one point. Hermione tried not to look at the dead bodies on the ground, and instead focused her eyes on more of the oncoming obstacles, following her two best friends through the war zone as they made their way down the many stairs to the Boathouse.

The moment they had at last arrived at the place, they duck down behind an old wooden boat, hearing the voices of Snape and Voldemort coming from the other side. Knowing there was absolutely no way they could get caught and be killed before all the Horcruxes were gone – or preferably not killed at all – they kept their distance until they thought the time was right to come out and aim to kill Nagini.

Hermione slightly jumped as Snape's body fell against the glass, gliding down until it fell completely to the ground. Turning her head away as Nagini kept on coming at him, she waited until it grew complete silent and followed Harry and Ron as they got up and made their way into the room when Voldemort had disapparated with the snake.

Waiting near the entrance, she watched as Harry crouched down to come to eye level with Snape, and Hermione didn't quite know what to feel. It was horrible to see him like this, wounded and on the point of death, but she didn't forget the moment either where he had been the one to kill Dumbledore.

"Take them." Snape whimpered, his hand pointing at the tears that were slowly rolling down his cheek, and Hermione hurried to get a flask out of her bag when Harry asked for it. After that she took a few steps back again, letting Harry have the last moment with Snape before all of them would know that he would die in less than a minute.

The bleeding was going way too fast, and his blood loss was nearing the point of fatality. Sure enough, not long after the last mutters of words, Snape released his last breath and Hermione swallowed, still feeling rather weird as she wasn't quite sure what to feel about his death.

Sharing a look with Harry, they had an unspoken agreement that they would return back to the castle and look for the snake once more, but those plans were soon lost as Voldemort's voice painfully intruded their minds.

Hermione found it disgusting how he spoke with such a feign respect about the deaths his people had caused, and grew rather anxious as he set a timer of an hour for Harry to meet him in the Forbidden Forest, or else everyone would die.

When his voice at last got silent, the three of them didn't share any words, and instead walked their way up the stairs once more in silence, all going over the warning Voldemort had just given them. As they arrived at Hogwarts grounds, it seemed completely deserted. No remainders of the battle that had taken place before was present, and a dead silence fell over the courtyard.

It was saddening to see the ruins of the castle as they walked in, seeing the debris of the destroyed castle walls laying on the floor. In they went to the Great Hall, and a sight of death immediately greeted them. People lay mourning over their beloved ones, crying and muttering the only sounds that filled the Hall.

Wounded people sat on the tables, a few teachers trying to help those in need out as best as they could. And then her eyes fell on the Weasley family, crying and hugging one another as they threw occasional glances to a body on the ground. Hermione swallowed, slowly following Ron who was approaching his family at a hurried pace, and she began to feel tears well up in her eyes as she managed to see who was laying lifeless on the ground.

There he was, as pale and lifeless as countless of other bodies laying around them, the faintest hint of a smile ever so present on his face: Fred Weasley. Hermione couldn't possibly believe that he had died, and she took another few shaky steps forward and took Ginny in her arms, letting her cry over her lost brother as they both threw occasional glances down, in utter disbelief that Fred had been taken from them all.

Ginny eventually let go, and when Hermione looked around she wasn't able to find Harry anywhere anymore. Wiping away a few lone tears, she wondered if perhaps he had chosen to do as Voldemort commanded, and a few new tears rolled down her cheek at the thought of Harry's lifeless body.

In her effort to look around for Harry, her eyes had met with George, whose face was the saddest of them all, the tears having left streaks of their paths as they had rolled down the grime on his face, and she laid a comforting hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze in the hopes to let him know that she was truly sorry for his loss.

She hadn't been very close with the twins – which is why she didn't dare to hug George – and even though she didn't always agree with their pranks and jokes, she did always admire their ability to make other people smile, and even here in these darkest of times did they manage to put a smile on other one's faces.

Heck, when they were camping and listening to the radio, Fred had been the one to make the trio laugh for the first time in months. They just had that about them, and it was a true pity to have lost such a wonderful person.

Hermione let Molly take her into a hug, knowing the poor woman needed as much comfort as she could get to get over the death of her son, and gave her a good squeeze to let her know that she would be there for her and the family.

A few more minutes went by, and eventually she felt a light tugging on her jacket. Turning her head to the left, she saw Ron nodding to the entrance of the Great Hall, and took the hint to follow him out. She understood why he must have wanted to leave, not wanting to be confronted for hours on end with the death of his brother, and so she sat down besides him on the stairs.

"Do you think he left to the Forbidden Forest? Harry?" Ron eventually broke the silence, although his voice was rather shaky and weak. Hermione lightly shrugged, not quite knowing where Harry had gone off to. "Maybe, yes."

Draco? With that their little conversation fell silent again, and they both stared to something in the distance, lost in their own thoughts. Still here. Hermione smiled slightly, glad to know he was still alive. Too many deaths had already occured, and Hermione didn't wish to add Draco to the list.

"Talking to your boyfriend?" Hermione frowned, turning her head to see Ron staring at her. Hermione shook her head, releasing a scoff in the process. "He's not my boyfriend." Yes, I am. Hermione raised an eyebrow, but then quickly dropped it as Ron's face became puzzled, probably wondering why she was making such weird faces. I didn't just kiss you to be your friend, Hermione.

Hermione averted her eyes to the ground, unable to help the smile that was forming on her face. Unless you mind, of course. His voice sounded somewhat doubtful now, even worried. No, I don't mind. She tried to play it off casually, but knew she wouldn't have had him fooled if he had seen her now, all smiley and happy, even though the situation they were all placed in was far from happy.

"I'm still here." Ron reminded her, and Hermione quickly wiped off the smile on her face, throwing an apologetic look in his direction. "Sorry, I just got caught up in a conversation." It came out more of a mumble as she realized how bad that actually sounded. Here he was, trying to make a casual conversation with her and she was off to her mind to focus on the one with Draco.

"Do you like him?" Ron eventually asked, a mixture of emotions written on his face. Hermione sighed, knowing it was pointless to lie to him. If it indeed was true that the two of them were together now, then her friends might as well know about it. Not trusting her voice to break the news to someone who had started to like her, she simply nodded to answer his question.

A saddened look fell on his face, and he slowly nodded as he averted his eyes to the ground. "Sorry for trying to kiss you, then." He mumbled, and Hermione smiled sadly at him. "It's fine, really. You couldn't have known. Blimey, when we were in there I didn't even realize yet that I had feelings for him too."

"You didn't?" A sincere curiosity edged in his voice, and she shook her head when he turned back to look at her. "Then why did you turn away?" Hermione shrugged, not having a great answer to that question. "It just didn't feel right. I knew there was something keeping me back, but I just didn't imagine it to be some denied feelings I had for Draco." Hermione chuckled lightly, still not being able to believe that she had fallen for him.

"You do know I won't stop hating him, right?" Hermione smiled at Ron, and was grateful to see the slightest hint of a smile on his face as well. "I know. I think there will always be a mutual dislike between Draco, you and Harry, anyway." Ron nodded in agreement, clasping his hands together. "And you don't mind?"

Hermione sighed, thinking carefully before answering. "Well, of course I mind. You're my two best friends, and I would love for you to not hate my.. boyfriend.." Hermione had to stop in her answer, her face scrunching up slightly at the unusual term for Draco. "But I understand that whatever has happened in the past, that you can't just let that go." Hermione put on a smile again, meeting Ron's eyes. "I'm just grateful that I still have you two by my side. That's all that matters to me."

Granger, your sentimentality is really going to be the death of me. Hermione scoffed, rolling her eyes, causing Ron to raise his eyebrows up in surprise, but realization soon dawned on him. "Malfoy?" He asked with an amused lopsided grin, and Hermione nodded with a smile. "Malfoy." She confirmed.